Benedict XVI: Be Faithful to God like Bl. John Paul II

Vatican City, May 2, 2012 / (CNA/EWTN News) – On Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the first anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s beatification in St. Peter’s Square on May 1, 2011.

At the conclusion of the May 2 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI spoke in Polish to the more than 20,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, many of whom had come on pilgrimage from the late pontiff’s native land of Poland.

He told them: “I am grateful to see so many of you in Rome for the first anniversary of the beatification of John Paul II.”

Pope John Paul’s “testimony, teaching and love for country continue to belong to your particular heritage,” he said.

“Strengthened by his intercession, may you be faithful to God, to the Cross and to the Holy Gospel. I bless you with all my heart. Praised be Jesus Christ,” the Pope stated.

On May 1, 2011, more than one million people, including thousands from Poland, filled St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding avenues to take part in the beatification of John Paul II by Pope Benedict XVI.

The miraculous cure of Sister Marie Simon Pierre, a French nun suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, paved the way for the late pontiff’s beatification. She was present at the beatification and joined in the presentation of the relic of John Paul II.